Local propositions to increase transit service passing; roads measures failing

State Representative Joe Fitzgibbon writes:

Little-noticed results from last Tuesday: voters in Grays Harbor County overwhelmingly (70.8%) approved a 0.1% sales tax increase to protect bus service, and voters in deeply conservative Okanogan County approved (56.2%) a significant 0.4% sales increase to create an entirely new bus agency.

Meanwhile, roads measures failed in Tacoma, Covington, and Othello. I take no joy in seeing badly-needed road maintenance in those cities fall short, but maybe it’s worth noting (attention Senate Republicans!) that voters even in rural counties are saying that bus service is a priority. Time to listen to the voters?

The Legislature is in the process of trying to put together a roads-centric transportation package that many people think will end up before voters in 2014, either as a citizen-initiated referendum or a legislative-referred referendum.

No proposal has been formally unveiled, but what’s being negotiated behind closed doors is said to be very auto-centric, and will carry a large price tag.

Andrew Villeneuve

Andrew Villeneuve is the founder and executive director of the Northwest Progressive Institute, as well as the founder of NPI's sibling, the Northwest Progressive Foundation. He has worked to advance progressive causes for over two decades as a strategist, speaker, author, and organizer. Andrew is also a cybersecurity expert, a veteran facilitator, a delegate to the Washington State Democratic Central Committee, and a member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps.

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